25/06/2025
This is not merely an issue of preference or strategy. It is a crisis of integrity.
This duality creates confusion in the people being led. They begin to MIX success with anointing, charisma with character, and crowds with approval from God.
When disciples are formed under this mixed DNA, they become performance-driven, platform-hungry, or profit-motivated—not cross-carrying.
Most people can’t tell when a leader starts switching their God from Jesus to Mammon, from shepherding to sustaining their platforms.
Because the words are still the same: “kingdom, vision, purpose, growth.”
But deep down, it’s no longer about Christ.
It’s about crowds, currency, and clout.
And by the time people realize it, they’re already tithing to a tower of Babel.
If you disciple people in pursuit of God, they’ll become servants.
But if you disciple people in pursuit of money, they’ll become mix-up christian with duality of identity.
THE DANGER OF UNCHECKED DUALITY:
• Spiritual Exploitation: Using spiritual influence to control and monetize people under the name of “vision” or “kingdom expansion.”
• Confusion of Calling: When people cannot tell if they are being led to Christ or to someone’s building fund and branding project or church projects.
• Discipleship Deformation:
A generation is raised to equate spiritual maturity with business success, not Christ-likeness.
• Abuse of Covenant Language: Using “covenant” to guilt people into staying in a system that feeds the leader’s vision—but not their souls. The ONYL covenant is through the BLOOD of Jesus.
🔥 THE 2 KINDS of the TWO-FACES OF MODERN PASTORAL or SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP
1. The Shepherd vs. The Self-Brander
One face is that of the pastor—called to feed, protect, and guide the sheep.
The other is the influencer—craving applause, relevance, and viral validation.
These leaders preach humility but secretly build platforms for themselves, not altars for God.
“They love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others.”
— Matthew 23:7
They say “Glory to God” with their mouths but silently say “Notice me” with their metrics.
2. The Discipler vs. The Recruiter for Revenue
Some do not just want to win souls—they want to extract value from them.
Discipleship is redefined, not as following Jesus but as becoming part of an internal economic system, often disguised as “kingdom entrepreneurship.”
Training sessions start to sound more like multi-level-networkings seminars than Upper Room encounters.
Vision casting becomes fundraising but done subtly.
“Faithfulness” is measured by financial contribution, not spiritual fruit.
“No one can serve two masters… You cannot serve both God and money.”
— Matthew 6:24
Pastoring or spiritual leadeship isn’t branding.
It isn’t content creation.
It isn’t trying to make “Jesus” go viral.
It’s walking people through the fire of truth, dying to self, and carrying their cross.
If your disciples don’t cry in repentance but only cheer in conferences, something’s broken at the roots.
We now have churches where the most celebrated members aren’t the ones who serve in secret, but those who generate income, influence, and invite more clients.
When GAIN replaces grace as our leadership metric,
We are no longer in the house of God.
We’re in a spiritual start-up multi-level businesses.
Most pastors today are tempted with the same thing Satan offered Jesus: All the kingdoms of the world… in exchange for one compromise.
You won’t have to bow physically.
You just have to preach half the gospel.
Silence the cross.
Embrace the multi-level making money makers system and call it favor and special blessing.
If Apostle Paul pastored today, he wouldn’t flex his church projects and follower count—he’d grieve over who’s still living in sin.
You can’t say you’re forming disciples if you’re secretly feeding your ego. Paul made tents, not platforms.
Paul poured himself out so others could live. Today, many leaders fill themselves up while their people starve spiritually.
If you pastor like Paul, you’ll be accused of being too harsh, too broken, too intense.
But that’s what love looks like when it refuses to let people stay bound.
Paul didn’t manipulate—he mourned.
He didn’t flatter—he fathered.
Paul said, “We do not peddle the Word of God for profit.”
Today, some don’t even hide it.
Events, courses, mentorships, seed offerings—turned into spiritual currency.
But Paul’s gospel came free, soaked in sweat and sincerity.
Leadership is not clean.
Paul suffered rejection, betrayal, and disrespect—but kept his heart wide open.
He said, “We are treated as impostors, and yet are true.”
That’s real spiritual leadership: not being liked, but being faithful.
Paul didn’t disciple people into his methods.
He discipled them into Christ crucified.
There were no tricks, no tactics—just deep intercession and long suffering.
He gave them truth, not tools.
When Paul saw a church drifting, he didn’t ignore it to “keep unity.”
He rebuked. He exposed. He pleaded with tears.
Because to him, the church wasn’t a brand—it was the Bride.
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Paul called out celebrity Christianity before it had a name.
He said, “You have many instructors, but not many fathers.”
He knew that spiritual leadership wasn’t about numbers—it was about birthing souls into maturity.
When Paul boasted, it wasn’t in his followers, church building projects, revenue, or buildings.
He boasted in his sufferings.
His sleepless nights. His lashes. His losses.
Because true apostolic authority comes not from elevation, but endurance.
Today, a disciple who brings in money gets the leader’s attention.
In Paul’s church, it was the broken, the humble, and the obedient who got his letters.
If you’re a spiritual leader, let Paul be your mirror:
• Do you serve when it’s inconvenient?
• Do you speak truth without expecting praise?
• Do you call out sin instead of rebranding it?
• Do you build people, not just systems?
• Do you bleed for your church—or just benefit from it?
You are not a spiritual father if:
• You only care when your “disciple” produces
• You avoid correcting them to keep the peace
• You use their loyalty to build your name
• You preach boldness but model compromise
• You refuse to be inconvenienced by their weakness
Paul never led this way—and neither should we.
Most people forget what Paul said about false apostles:
• They disguise themselves as servants of righteousness
• They preach a different Jesus
• They exploit people financially
• They gain authority through showmanship
• They twist Scripture for control
And yet today, many defend them in the name of unity.
Real spiritual oversight means:
• You confront dysfunction
• You love without strings
• You cry over sin, not over stats
• You don’t preach what hasn’t broken you
• You don’t tolerate wolves in sheep’s clothing
Paul didn’t build churches. He built altars with his life.
Paul didn’t train disciples to make money.
He trained them to make sacrifices.
• Not profits—but prayers
• Not platforms—but perseverance
• Not personal brands—but purity of heart
That’s how churches stay holy—not just busy.
If Paul were here today, he wouldn’t speak at your conference.
He’d sit your leaders down and ask:
• Where’s your brokenness?
• Where’s your burden for souls?
• Why are your staff overworked and underfed?
• Who told you celebrity was the new credibility?
He wouldn’t flatter. He would father.
Here’s how Paul confronted duality in leaders:
• Rebuked Peter to his face
• Warned against those peddling the gospel
• Defended his integrity with tears, not posts
• Boasted in his beatings, not his bookings
• Refused to take glory for anything but grace
This is how real apostles move.
If you want to lead like Paul:
• Accept the loneliness of truth-telling
• Expect rejection from those who only love hype
• Prepare to lose followers for telling hard truths
• Learn to build people, not events
• Be willing to suffer for someone else’s freedom
The crown comes after the cross.
©️ Ctto 💯
